3D Printed Characters with brief process notes

[TalonGrayson]

8 hours ago, battlewraith said:

Are you doing anything to address the layer lines before you paint? Resin printers are definitely better for smoothness and detail, but I've stayed clear of them because the resin is a lot more toxic than working with PLA.

 

So, yeah, they are, but they're no where near as I assumed before owning one.

 

Full disclosure (and disclaimer), I am not hugely risk averse, and you should not take anything I'm about to say as absolute truth. Always do your own homework, take every precaution you can, and assume the worst.

 

The MSDS (material safety data sheet) for any given resin is usually available from their website. Every one I've read more or less sums up as "do not drink, wash your hands if you get it on your skin, if it's giving you problems breathing, get some fresh air". I compare it to petrol/gasoline in that both are nasty stuff, but when you use them appropriately, they're totally fine. These days I don't even wear a respirator or gloves when I'm handling resin, and my printer sits about 2' from my face at my desk.

 

Resin printing is messy, and the resin is more expensive, and cleanup/post-processing is a different beast entirely. I don't have pets or children, so I can be a bit more slapdash and take more risks, so that's also worth bearing in mind.

 

Not to plug my channel, but I stream on Twitch every Friday and Saturday. If you're on there and you see me streaming, feel free to pop in and ask me about this sort of thing. I'm totally open to sharing XP with this sort of thing (typically Fridays nights are maker/creative streams): https://go.twitch.tv/talongrayson

 

I have 5 or 6 years of 3D printing experience with FDM/FFF (PLA, I've never found a need for other materials so far) and MSLA (resin) printers, and I can talk about it for days 😂

[Erratic1]

Friend of mine has a venting setup for his resin printer shunting fumes outside.

[leeper48]

I have a similar setup for my Ortur laser engraver. The fumes from cutting plywood were pretty noxious but once I built an enclosure and setup ducting with and inline fan it completely eliminated it.

[TalonGrayson]

The main benefit of venting a resin printer is getting rid of the smell, to be honest. Some resins smell worse than others. I've found that most are inoffensive, but one particular resin stank so much it literally made my eyes water.

[battlewraith]

9 hours ago, TalonGrayson said:

The MSDS (material safety data sheet) for any given resin is usually available from their website. Every one I've read more or less sums up as "do not drink, wash your hands if you get it on your skin, if it's giving you problems breathing, get some fresh air". I compare it to petrol/gasoline in that both are nasty stuff, but when you use them appropriately, they're totally fine. These days I don't even wear a respirator or gloves when I'm handling resin, and my printer sits about 2' from my face at my desk.

 

I'm not an expert on toxic materials and maybe the sources I'm looking at are dated (eg. there are non-toxic resin brands on the market). But a quick google search on resin will say that it is very toxic, should not be handled without gloves, needs proper ventilation, and is extremely damaging to the environment if not disposed of properly. Note that by toxic I don't mean "unpleasant to be around". I'm talking about damage to your skin, particles in your eyes and lungs, etc.

[battlewraith]

18 hours ago, leeper48 said:

Just a little sanding. I’m running .2 layer height. I’ll try finer height settings first before getting another printer. 

 

I use an automotive primer called Duplicolor primer filler. It's really good for filling in print lines. Spray the model and then you're sanding the primer to the level of the lines, rather than trying to sand down the ridges of the plastic.

[TalonGrayson]

30 minutes ago, battlewraith said:

 

I'm not an expert on toxic materials and maybe the sources I'm looking at are dated (eg. there are non-toxic resin brands on the market). But a quick google search on resin will say that it is very toxic, should not be handled without gloves, needs proper ventilation, and is extremely damaging to the environment if not disposed of properly. Note that by toxic I don't mean "unpleasant to be around". I'm talking about damage to your skin, particles in your eyes and lungs, etc.

It's massively toxic to the environment, for sure. Uncured resin should never, ever be disposed of in any way whatsoever. Cured resin can be landfilled but not recycled, but isn't an environmental hazard otherwise.

 

I've attached an MSDS for Elegoo ABS-like resin. It's a pretty typical resin, but each resin is slightly different.

 

Like I say, I can't in good conscience tell anyone not use PPE when using resin, but I am certain it's less dangerous than most people think. It's good to be cautious, but it's also good to have all the facts (the MSDS), as well as some anecdotal experience to give context.

ELEGOO ABS-Like Photopolymer Resin MSDS Report.pdf

[TalonGrayson]

This needs some clean-up and a lick of paint, but I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Only a couple of minor printing defects... I'll probably reprint it tbh

 

Glue for scale

[leeper48]

Clean and crisp. What was the final print time?

[TalonGrayson]

2 hours ago, leeper48 said:

Clean and crisp. What was the final print time?

That was just shy of 8 hours